Springfield, OH – Wittenberg men's basketball returned to Pam Evans Smith Arena on Saturday night, as the Tigers host the Fighting Scots from the College of Wooster. Though the stands were empty, the second half of this series this 2021 season proved to be just as exciting as the first. After trailing by two at the break a night ago, Wittenberg found themselves in a similar spot, trailing the Fighting Scots 37-35 at the intermission. As the two foes went basket for basket down the stretch, Wooster would come out on top with the narrow 81-78 win. Just Shipman-Curtis exploded out of the gate, scoring 17 of his 23 points in the first half, knocking down 8 of 11 from the floor. Finishing just a rebound shy of his second double-double of the season, Shipman-Curtis tallied nine boards, including four on the offensive side. Three fellow Tigers finished in double figures with James Johnson tallying 16, along with Levi Boettcher and Jeff Queen adding 13 and 11 apiece.

Game Breakdown

After the Fighting Scots opened up the scoring on the night, Wittenberg responded, as Boettcher knocked down his first triple of the game. After trailing through the first eight minutes of action, Johnson hit a three to give the Tigers their first lead at 13-12. The two sides went back and forth after the Fighting Scots regained a slim lead midway through the half. Shipman-Curtis put Wittenberg back in front with a made lay-up with under 90 seconds in the half. Wittenberg knocked down 15 of 34 attempts from the floor, leading the rebounding category 19-14 through the first 20 minutes. The Tigers scored quick coming out in the second half, capturing the 44-39 lead, coming off back-to-back made lay-ups from Johnson and Queen. The intensity picked up down the stretch, as the two sides were unable to extend their lead to more than a possession with under 15 minutes in regulation. After Wooster captured the slim lead, Wittenberg regained the advantage at 61-60, coming from a Shipman-Curtis triple. Wooster converted on back-to-back three-point shots with under a minute to go, giving the Scots the 77-75 lead. One final three-point shot from Boettcher brought the Tigers to within striking distance with under 10 seconds, before the Scots escaped with the with. The Tigers converted on 29 of 65 from the floor on the night, knocking down 8 or 25 from beyond the arc.